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Medicine 2012...(hopeful entrants) !!

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I've just booked my UKCAT and I'm nervous already, aha.
Original post by Normandy114

Original post by Normandy114
I don't know about the other book. but the ICS 600q one does contain questions that are more difficult than the actual UKCAT, especially on the QR section. Also bear in mind you do get a calculator in the exam, albeit an on-screen one.


It's not an on screen calculator, it's a simple calculator.
Original post by jam277
It's not an on screen calculator, it's a simple calculator.


I heard it was changing for this year?
Original post by Normandy114

Original post by Normandy114
I heard it was changing for this year?


I don't know. Maybe I guess. But that would just waste time. It would be better handheld.
Reply 3104
Avatar for Laylora
Laylora
I was thinking that about the on screen, that would take forever!
Hmm i guess i wont really know the difficulty until i get in there!
Original post by Dominic1994
im hoping to get 8A/A*'s, 3B's and a C for GCSE... not the best but that hopefully what ill get. Ive also got a week booked in november (have to be 17 -___-) shadowing a consultant and observing etc. any advice on what i can do during the summer to boost my app/get relevant experience? thankyou! :biggrin:



Original post by TooSexyForMyStethoscope
GP shadowing, care home, hospice, community support groups etc

Sport, music whatever :smile:



Original post by abu125
I am hoping to do medicine, but not sure what and how to get extra-curricular activities, work experience and volunteering, I am planning to do as follows:
1 Week work shadow with Cardiothoracic surgeon
2 Week at a hospital, shadowing a doctor in palliative care
Gonna start volunteering at local hospice
Just need to know what more I can do to add more extra-curricular activities. And do all unis ask for extra-curricular activities
Thanks



Original post by conorcd
biol and chem definitely-the other 2 only if you really enjoy them. possibly oxf/camb still want 3 sciences but most other unis don't. I took psychology and that was looked on favourably but if you check, most unis are happy with lots of subjects for the third subject (within reason-use your common sense). If you like phys and maths and can get As then go for it!



Original post by Laylora
Hey guys, quick question about UKCAT revision books.
Up until recently i've been looking at 600 questions, which had me really worried about the maths. However i got the practise tests, questions and answers book by Hutton and Hutton and the maths section is a zillion times easier (I got 2 questions wrong out of an entire test under exam conditions, which quite frankly seems far to good to be true.)
So my question is which one is a more realistic view of the test, because if its 600 questions then i have alot of work to do fitting everything into 30 seconds!



Original post by Normandy114
I don't know about the other book. but the ICS 600q one does contain questions that are more difficult than the actual UKCAT, especially on the QR section. Also bear in mind you do get a calculator in the exam, albeit an on-screen one.



Original post by TattyBoJangles
I've just booked my UKCAT and I'm nervous already, aha.


Hi guys, i have a quick question

how do i get work experience?

i've applied to hospitals but keep getting rejected

How should i approach my GP for experience?

What other RELEVANT places can i get work experience? Would a care home be good? what would i be expected to do, and how would this be relevant to medicine? would i be asked to clean up/do things that i may feel, at his stage in my life just having done a/s levels, uncomfortable?

Thanks!
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by TooSexyForMyStethoscope
You seem to already have a lot of work experience arranged already. Joining things such as Scouts (I enjoy banging on about them...) mean that you can do a number of activities without joining lots of clubs.


:smile: Hi,

how much space do we have to write our personal statement?

how much should it be medicine focused?

if it's 70% medicine focused, are we not writing jiberish , if we cannot even get medical work experience?

would the experience of a hospital you obtain being a patient be of use?

thanks
Original post by sixthformer
Hi guys, i have a quick question

how do i get work experience?

i've applied to hospitals but keep getting rejected

How should i approach my GP for experience?

What other RELEVANT places can i get work experience? Would a care home be good? what would i be expected to do, and how would this be relevant to medicine? would i be asked to clean up/do things that i may feel, at his stage in my life just having done a/s levels, uncomfortable?

Thanks!


Trying to obtain work experience is notoriously difficult, you are not the only one. By all means ask if any GP's in your area would be happy for you to sit in on their consultations (they usually are if you are nice)

Care homes and hospices are fantastic as you can't escape speaking to the patients/residents. Getting used to communicating is the key. You shouldn't be asked to do anything that you are have not been trained to do. If you want to get involved in more hands on care then you will be formally trained in your duties.
Original post by sixthformer
:smile: Hi,

how much space do we have to write our personal statement?

how much should it be medicine focused?

if it's 70% medicine focused, are we not writing jiberish , if we cannot even get medical work experience?

would the experience of a hospital you obtain being a patient be of use?

thanks


Erm I can't recall off the top of my head. It will say on the UCAS website :smile:

Well it should be 100% about medicine :tongue: You usually have an intro and conclusion paragraph where you convince the reader of your 'passion'. Then one section about your WE and another about volunteering, extra curricular etc.
Original post by TooSexyForMyStethoscope
Trying to obtain work experience is notoriously difficult, you are not the only one. By all means ask if any GP's in your area would be happy for you to sit in on their consultations (they usually are if you are nice)

Care homes and hospices are fantastic as you can't escape speaking to the patients/residents. Getting used to communicating is the key. You shouldn't be asked to do anything that you are have not been trained to do. If you want to get involved in more hands on care then you will be formally trained in your duties.


thanks:smile:

may i ask, how do i improve my communication?

=/ this may sound silly, i have old family members, but i don't know how to relate to or talk to them

as in, what if they don't like me, ignore me, are racist?

how can i stop it being akward?
Original post by TooSexyForMyStethoscope
Erm I can't recall off the top of my head. It will say on the UCAS website :smile:

Well it should be 100% about medicine :tongue: You usually have an intro and conclusion paragraph where you convince the reader of your 'passion'. Then one section about your WE and another about volunteering, extra curricular etc.


i roughly have 3-4 months before submitting my PS, and i want to talk about/write my PS from now/when my a/s exam finishes

any tips

sorry for asking so many questions! i go to a school that, though helps me, i know that many other schools properly prepare their applicants, so i don't want to fall behind, but use my passion for medicine to give me equal footing
Work experience wise, just annoy the hospitals.
I have some work experience at Papworth soon, which I got by bombarding them with emails for a while ;B

Having insider contacts also really helps. In my SJA division, we have two nurses and a paramedic. They're really useful, as they're like friends but can get work exp. for me.
Original post by sixthformer
thanks:smile:

may i ask, how do i improve my communication?

=/ this may sound silly, i have old family members, but i don't know how to relate to or talk to them

as in, what if they don't like me, ignore me, are racist?

how can i stop it being akward?



Original post by sixthformer
i roughly have 3-4 months before submitting my PS, and i want to talk about/write my PS from now/when my a/s exam finishes

any tips

sorry for asking so many questions! i go to a school that, though helps me, i know that many other schools properly prepare their applicants, so i don't want to fall behind, but use my passion for medicine to give me equal footing


Most schools don't really give that great advice. Make sure you show your PS to as many people as you can, parents, friends, doctors, teachers, use the PS help on TSR etc.

The only way for you to fell more comfortable with older people is to get more experience :smile: Just be yourself and make sure that you are all smiles and cheerful. Old people (as a rule) love to speak to younger people. I daresay some will be difficult, but you have to kill them with kindness and learn from ypur experience.
Original post by sixthformer
thanks:smile:

may i ask, how do i improve my communication?

=/ this may sound silly, i have old family members, but i don't know how to relate to or talk to them

as in, what if they don't like me, ignore me, are racist?

how can i stop it being akward?


Just put yourself in situations where you may well have to talk to older people. I volunteer at a charity shop, where the vast majority of people working there are old women, so communicating with them can be difficult at times. For your question on getting work experience, I got my work experience placement by just emailing a local consultant asking if I could shadow him for a week, and I know several other people who were successful by doing the same thing. Also, a personal statement is 4000 characters, so punctuation and spaces included.
Original post by Normandy114
Just put yourself in situations where you may well have to talk to older people. I volunteer at a charity shop, where the vast majority of people working there are old women, so communicating with them can be difficult at times. For your question on getting work experience, I got my work experience placement by just emailing a local consultant asking if I could shadow him for a week, and I know several other people who were successful by doing the same thing. Also, a personal statement is 4000 characters, so punctuation and spaces included.


in a care home environment

what will i be expected to do

how will i do things

i'm shy, but not that shy in the sense that=/ i need common ground/be able to relate to people

if i were a doctor, then them being a patient, and them needing my help gives me a right to converse

but if i'm a random kid who has no common ground with a person who lives in a care home, they may not want to talk to me=/
Original post by sixthformer
in a care home environment

what will i be expected to do

how will i do things

i'm shy, but not that shy in the sense that=/ i need common ground/be able to relate to people

if i were a doctor, then them being a patient, and them needing my help gives me a right to converse

but if i'm a random kid who has no common ground with a person who lives in a care home, they may not want to talk to me=/


from my experiences i wouldnt worry about relating to them, or what to say, most of the people in the care homes i visit just want to tell you the latest 'in house' gossip and about them and youll find even patients with even severe cases of demetia can have good tales to tell you, you just have to keep listening and eventually it all begins to make sense :smile:

and if your talking to the elderly or patients at a hospice just be really cheery and crack a smile, it will brighten up the persons day :wink:
Original post by EbonyJane
from my experiences i wouldnt worry about relating to them, or what to say, most of the people in the care homes i visit just want to tell you the latest 'in house' gossip and about them and youll find even patients with even severe cases of demetia can have good tales to tell you, you just have to keep listening and eventually it all begins to make sense :smile:

and if your talking to the elderly or patients at a hospice just be really cheery and crack a smile, it will brighten up the persons day :wink:


Just be aware and prepared in a situation that you arrive and the person you expect to see may not be there, especially in a care home environment you can become very bonded to the residents.

I dont think its something you should cut yourself off from though as its a very real part of a doctors job, im just giving a bit of forewarning as i learnt this the hard way :frown:
Reply 3117
Avatar for conorcd
conorcd
8
Original post by Dominic1994
ahh i see... This summer after my GCSE's im looking to do long term volunteering in a care home/hospital/GP, what uni's did you apply to/get offers from? and what were your GCSE/A-levels if you dont mind me asking? :biggrin: x


last year I got offers from Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds (rejected by southampton as applied to 6 year course aand they said should have applied to 5 year course) but missed my chemistry grade. This year I got offers from Newc, Leeds, Durham. HYMS
I have 3A*S, 8As, 2 Cs for gcse, got BCCD for AS level (luckily we didn't have to declare them)and finally I have AAA for A Level.
I got 672.5 in ukcat last year and 682.5 this year so I used that to my advantage. I'm off to Newcastle in Sept.
your plans seem really good-wish I'd been that organised. also try to do any debating, mentoring stuff in school in sixth form as demonstrating good communication skills helps too.
Reply 3118
Avatar for conorcd
conorcd
8
Original post by Laylora
Hey guys, quick question about UKCAT revision books.
Up until recently i've been looking at 600 questions, which had me really worried about the maths. However i got the practise tests, questions and answers book by Hutton and Hutton and the maths section is a zillion times easier (I got 2 questions wrong out of an entire test under exam conditions, which quite frankly seems far to good to be true.)
So my question is which one is a more realistic view of the test, because if its 600 questions then i have alot of work to do fitting everything into 30 seconds!


I was fairly bad at 600 q but did ok in actual test. there's a thread on here just about the ukcat so that might help-or look up last years one as people post good ideas/web pages to try
Reply 3119
Avatar for conorcd
conorcd
8
Original post by sixthformer
:smile: Hi,

how much space do we have to write our personal statement?

how much should it be medicine focused?

if it's 70% medicine focused, are we not writing jiberish , if we cannot even get medical work experience?

would the experience of a hospital you obtain being a patient be of use?

thanks


unis realise it can be very hard to get shadowing exp so they are happy with exp in a caring situation. no interviewer ever asked me about my exp of shadowing a dr but they ALL asked about my exp of volunteering in a care home and hospice where you both interact with residents, staff and families and observe the realities of caring. I was on the dementia ward in the care home and one interviewer said they wished every med applicant had that exp so it's certainly not looked down on.
I wasn't asked to do anything intimate as a volunteer-mainly tidy up, chat, serve food. the care home then offered me a job and then it was very hands-on.
look at the wiki page about work exp. its more about what you have learnt in the exp-there are examples of pers sttes on here too. I'd say your whole 4000 characters should link to medicine but that incl saying things like how being in a school team has taught you teamwork or leadership etc or how playing an instrument helps you relax (its a stressful course/job so they like to know how you'd cope)
sorry for the essay...

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